Extensible roller screen and housing therefor



Dec. 25, 1951 p, K, NIMKOFF 2,579,850

EXTENSIBLE ROLLER SCREEN AND HOUSING THEREFOR Filed Dec. 7, 1950 20 2 c f// H j' l', )III'I di I ml y IIII' 22 /7 i 27, f/ I @I I L --lfa I I I :Mw I I t I I f I IIIII I I 30,?, 3.5/ L

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I I; INVENTOIL g5; mq M@ :l l I| '1 ll\ y 50 J3 Patented Dec. 25, n1951 EXTENSIBLE ROLLER SCREEN AND HOUSING THEREFOR Pauline K. Nimko, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application December 7, 1950, Serial No. 199,627

Claims.

This invention relates to screens of the roller type designed primarily, although not exclusively, for use in small apartments when space is at a premium and wherein it is frequently desirable to shut off a section of a room for reasons of privacy.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a novel roller screen assembly wherein the entire apparatus is completely enclosed in a housing when not in use, the housing occupying very little space and being unobtrusive in appearance and which may blend in with other fixtures in the room.

Another object of the invention is to provide a screen and housing therefore which, although a permanent xture, can nevertheless be installed with a minimum of expense, or it can be installed by the owner if he possesses even the most elementary knowledge of tools.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel roller screen wherein the roller is journalled on a vertical axis in a vertical housing of small cross-sectional dimensions and formed with a cover hinged adjacent the door, the cover cornpletely obscuring the screen from View when not in use but which may readily let down to the iioor to form a floor board when the screen is to be extended.' Associated with the floor board is a hinged screen supporting part which may be set up in a vertical position to securely hold the screen in extended position against the tension of the spring in the roller.

Fig. l is a front elevation of the improved screen in extended position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, partly in section, the part in section being on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation, partly in section of the housing and the posts when in fully closed position;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation showing a modified form of the invention.

An embodiment of the present invention may include a flexible curtain Ill mounted on a roller II which is mounted for rotative movement in a housing I2. The housing may be made from any suitable sheet material such as plywood, plastic sheets or sheet metal and includes side walls I3, I4 and I5, a base wall I6 and a top wall I1.

At its outer end the curtain is provided with a reinforcing strip and for the purpose of limiting the winding of the curtain on the roller, guides 2I and 22 may extend downwardly from the top Wall and upwardly from the base wall, the guides 2 I being aixed to the side wall I3.

The roller may be of the type usually employed for window shades and is provided with an internal spring I9 which is always under suiiicient torsion to completely wind the shade or the roller. It is further provided with a shaft whose terminals 23 are received in fittings secured to the top and base walls, one of such terminals being fiattened to prevent rotation between the shaft and the fitting.

The housing is further provided with a fourth side Wall 25 which forms a closure therefor when the curtain is rolled on the roller, and which is hinged at 25 to the base wall and forms a floor board when in open position. At its outer end the floor board is provided with a block 2`|` to space it uniformly from the oor when in the open position of Fig. 1.

The curtain is supported in extended position by a post 30 which is hinged at 3l in a bracket on the oor board and is maintained in its upright position by a brace 32 hinged to the post at 33. The opposite end of the brace is cut away diagonally at 34 and is received in a U-shaped socket or stop 35.

Suitable securing means for the curtain may include plural pins 36 on the post and loops 31 secured to the reinforcing strip.

Post 30 is shown as being of the full height of the curtain but it may be of lesser height. It may obviously be of shorter length if desired. The post is formed with a recess 40 to receive brace 32 and both members are notched at 4I so as to clear stop 35 when the parts are folded.

The housing is preferably secured directly to one wall of a room and when not in use the parts are in the position of Fig. 3. To use the screen it is only necessary to lay licor board 25 out, erect post 30, t brace 32 into its socket, extend the curtain and connect it to the post.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 5 the housing 58 may be substantially the same as that shown in Fig. 1 but in this instance the oor board is formed in two sections 5I and 52, the rst section being hinged at 53 to the housing and the second being hinged at 54 to the first section. The post 55 is hinged at 56 to the outer end of the second floor board section and a brace 51 retains the post in vertical position. The screen 58 is secured at 59 to the post.

While two forms or embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein for illustrative purposes, and the construction and arrangement incidental to two specific applications thereof have been disclosed and discussed in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is limited neither to the mere details or Y relative arrangement of parts, nor to its specific embodiments shown herein, but that extensive deviations from the illustrated forms or embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the principles thereof.

I claim:

1. The combination of an extensible screen carried on a spring driven roller mounted on a vertical axis and a support for the roller including a housing for the screen when in closed position, the housing being attachable Vto a vertical member and including top and bottom Walls provided With bearings for the terminals of the roller, fixed side walls and a movable side wall at-y tached to the housing at its lower end and providing a fioorboard when the screenV is in extended position, a post hinged at the outer end of the floor board and a'bracing means for retaining the post in vertical position, and means for attaching the free end of the screen to th Y post.

l bf .the screen .to the post.

3. 'Ime combination of .an extensible Yroller- `screen mounted on a vertical axis and a :support .for the roller including an upright housing for the lscreen when i-n closed position, the housing :being attachable toa vertical member and including top and -bottom walls vprovided with bearings :for the `terminals of the roller, xed side -walls and a movable side wall hinged at its lower end to the bottom wall and providing a floor vboard whenfthe screen is in extended position, a 'post hinged at the outer end of the oor board and a brace hinged at one -end thereof to the 4 post for retaining the post in vertical position, a stop on the floor board which receives the free end of the brace, and means for attaching the free end of the screen to the post.

4. The combination of an extensible roller Y screen mounted on a vertical axis and a support for the roller including a housing for the screen when in closed position, the housing being attachable to a vertical member and including top and bottom walls provided with bearings for the terminals of the roller, fixed side walls and an extensible, movable side Wall attached at its,

lower end to the bottom Wall and providing a oor board which underlies the screen when the same is in extended position, a post hinged at the -outer end of the `oor board and a brace for retaining the post in vertical position, and means for attaching the free end of the screen to the post. Y

5. The combination of an extensible roller screen mounted on a vertical `axis and a support for the roller including an upright housing for the screen when in closed position, said `housing lincluding top and bottom-Walls provided with bearings for the terminals of the roller, ixed side walls and a movable side Wall formed in plural interconnectedsections, such side wall being attached kat one end thereof to the lower end of the housing and being swingable downwardly from the housing fto provide a floor board underlying the screen when the Ylatter, is in extended position, a post hinged at the outer kend .of the floor boardland a brace Yfor retaining the `post in vertical position, and meansfor attaching the free end of the screen to thepost. Y

Y PAULINE K. NIMKOFF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are Aof UNITED STATES PA'mNTs f DateV kNumber Name v 376,436 Harrison Jan. 17,`1888 1,627,906 Jones May 10, 1927 1,915,944

Nagel June 27, 1933 record inthe Y 

